A welding helmet is typically used during a welding process to help protect the weldor from various dangers such as sparks, heat, and flashes of light (e.g., visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light). A typical welding helmet covers the front and/or sides of the head of the weldor and includes a relatively transparent front portion to see through. The intense heat and brightness associated with welding can cause eye damage including, possibly, blindness. Therefore, a filter lens is typically used to filter out harmful light and heat.
A spatter shield on the front of the welding helmet helps protect the weldor as well as the filter from flying sparks and other debris that may fly towards the helmet during a welding operation. The spatter shield frequently becomes scratched or damaged and must be replaced so as not to hinder the view of the weldor. Gaining access to the spatter shield is often difficult and time-consuming, requiring other elements (such as a filter) to be removed in order to remove the spatter shield. Many times the spatter shield has to be removed from the interior of the helmet shell, which can be difficult, especially if the user (i.e., weldor) has large hands and fingers.
Being able to adjust the helmet to tilt at a proper angle with respect to the weldor's head and eyes is often difficult to accomplish. The weldor may have to remove the helmet, adjust it, and try it on again to see if the adjustment is correct. The weldor may have to repeat this process several times before the angle of the helmet is adjusted to a desirable position. Also, adjusting controls on an automatic darkening filter (ADF) shade cartridge, which is being used as the filter, may be difficult and time consuming, requiring various elements of the helmet to be dis-assembled to get at the controls, and then re-assembled once the controls are adjusted. This process may have to be repeated several times as well, until the weldor gets the adjustments just right.
For certain applications, a weldor may want to use one type of helmet configuration and, for certain other applications, a weldor may want to use a slightly different type of helmet configuration. Such circumstances typically require the weldor to have two or more separate helmets that he can switch between. Each helmet may require a unique set of elements such as filters, lenses, cover plates, and shields. Also, each helmet has to be adjusted to a fit of the weldor and to other preferences of the weldor for a particular application.
In general, many welding helmets today are not very user-friendly and require a user to spend a significant amount of time making adjustments and replacing various elements.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.